What You Need to Know About Illinois Highway Accidents

Highways are more prone to fatal auto accidents than roadways and streets due to greater traffic and higher speeds.

A number of large vehicles like commercial trucks run at a high speed on highways, especially on interstate highways. Consequently, even a minor collision may result in a major auto accident on highways. Illinois is a state with one of the highest interstate miles and the largest commercial vehicle flows in the United States. Now that the speed limits on the state’s highways have been raised, the number of fatal highway accidents is on the rise.

Illinois: The US State with Third Highest Interstate Routes

In Illinois, railways were constructed prior to interstate highways. The state has always been a transportation hub mainly due to its proximity to the Midwest business hub Chicago. Moreover, Illinois is located in the middle of the country. As a result, traffic through the highways of the state has always been high. In fact, Illinois ranks third among the US states with most interstate miles, only after Texas and California.

The state of Illinois has more than 2,200 interstate miles with 23 different routes crossing the state. The interstate highways of Chicago area alone witness more than 50 million miles of traffic every day. Numerous vehicles of different sizes, including small cars, large SUVs and double-length semi-trailers, are driven through the highways of Illinois every day. With so many vehicles running on the same road, even a minor collision can a major accident.

Prevalence of Auto Accidents on Illinois Highways

Highways witness nearly 50% of all auto accidents in Illinois, and highway accidents account for more than 30% of auto accident fatalities in the state. Unfortunately, thousands of road accidents happen in the state of Illinois every day. In 2011, the state witnessed more than 100,000 accidents, causing more than 23,000 injuries and 349 fatalities.

In most cases, highway accidents happen due to high speed driving through congested areas of a road. Moreover, a large number of cargo trucks and large commercial vehicles travel through the highways of Illinois, making the Illinois highways even more prone to fatal accidents. This is because large commercial vehicles running at a high speed take more time to stop in the event of an emergency.

Another factor increasing accident risks in Illinois highways is the increase of speed limit on some highways at rural areas of the state. In most of those highways, the speed limit has been raised by only five miles per hour (MPH), but this small increase may result in more highway accidents. The higher the speed, the more difficult it would be for the drivers to stop their vehicles quickly if they see a collision up ahead. Drivers need to be more careful and leave a safe distance from the car ahead of them to avoid automobile collisions.

Chicago Highway Accident Attorney

Highway accidents usually cause fatal injuries to accident victims. Some common injuries include broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and neck injuries. If you suffer an injury in a highway accident, your insurance company will likely try to save themselves money and offer you an upfront settlement amount. Before you accept any such deal, you should consult an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer at Willens Law Office. We not only have experience dealing with the insurance companies, our founder Matthew Willens has experience working for a major insurance companies and understands how the operate.

Call us today at (312) 957-4166 or click the icon below to schedule a free consultation.